Tarzan And The Quarry Railway
by Rancy
Summary: Tarzan remembers hearing strange noises in a certain place a long time ago. When he ventures out with the others to explore that place, he is surprised to find an abandoned quarry railway adjoining his jungle. When Dumont comes to know about it, he wants to run the quarry again. This story is based more on imagination than on realism. Read and enjoy. Reviews appreciated.
1. A Plan For An Exploration

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Tarzan nor Thomas The Tank Engine. No copyright infringement is intended by this work.

Chapter 1

A PLAN FOR AN EXPLORATION

After Tarzan and Jane saved the gorillas from Clayton, they married each other and started living in the treehouse made by Tarzan's parents with the professor's camp nearby. Since that time, many events had befallen them, but the events that were going to take place were going to be different from all that had happened till now.

One morning, after they'd had their breakfast, Tarzan and Jane were thinking out what to do for the rest of the day. You see, while living in a jungle, there are times when you just cannot think what to do to pass your time.

"I was wondering, Tarzan, is there a place in this jungle that you haven't explored till now?" asked Jane.

"It's strange you should mention such a thing." he answered. "You see, just yesterday, I was thinking of such a place. It's further up the coastline in a part I have never explored. You see, when I was young, I used to hear strange noises coming from that place. So I stayed away from that part of the coast and didn't go near it if I could help it.

"Noises? What kind?"

"Well, you see, there were shrieks so loud that we could here them right where we lived. And then there were hissings and breathings. And yes, there were roars and crashes and bangs also. We couldn't make out for the world of us exactly what kind of creature lived there. So Kerchak forbade us all to go to that place.

Jane was a little alarmed.

"Tarzan!" she exclaimed, "You make it sound as if that place was haunted!

"Haunted? What's haunted?" there were a lot of things he didn't know even now.

"Well, never mind." she said. "I'll explain later. But it's strange that I haven't heard a single noise till now. And I've been living here for an year!"

Tarzzan laughed.

"That's because that place is further away from this house. And anyway, those noises stopped coming many years ago. Maybe, whatever lived there died.

Jane couldn't help feeling a little relieved by this piece of news. But she considered the matter. "Do you think that monster, or whatever that was, deserted the place and went somewhere else?"

"I don't know." said Tarzan. "It's no business of mine. But if you want we can visit that place today.

"Oh, I would like a bit of adventure. she said. "We haven't had one for a long time now. And yes, we can ask Daddy to come too. Maybe, he can find a scientific solution...

"Hello, you two! Have you planned to go out today or are you going to sit here all day long?"

It was Turk, Tarzan's best friend and cousin. Turk was one of the most boysterous gorillas Jane knew. Now she came in the house with a leap and a jump [not a skip and a jump, mind you] and enlivened the atmosphere at once.

Tarzan told her. "We're going to the place from where all those noises used to come from. The place near the coastline, Don't you remember?"

"You mean the place where something lived that made more noise than an elephant's trumpet? she asked him.

"Yes, that place. he said. "Would you like to come?"

"That reminds me," Jane put in, "Where's Tantor?"

"Oh, he is waiting outside for you two to come out." Turk told her. "But don't tell him where we're going or else he'll hide himself in the remotest part of the jungle."

Tantor the elephant was a complete coward from all outside appearances. It was true that he was one of the biggest elephants of the jungle, but it was also true that he had almost all the phobias of the world. But when his friends were in danger, his bravery came out unexpectedly.

When Tarzan, Jane and Turk went outside, Tantor was waiting for them.

"Hello." he said, "I thought you were never coming out. Have you planned to do something today?

Turk took it upon herself to handle the situation. "Er-well, you see, we're going to a place where we never went before."

Tantor was interested. "Oh really?" he said. "Which place is that?"

Turk laughed sheepishly. "Oh, don't worry." she said. "You'll know when we'll reach there."

When they reached the professor's camp, they told him about the place where Tarzan had heard interesting noises a long time ago. Thankfully Tantor didn't get suspicious at that time or else he hadn't gone with them at all. But as it happened, he went alright. The professor, on his part, was interested, and agreed to accompany them on this exploration.

At last, there party was complete and they set off for the mysterious place.


	2. The Journey And a Curious Discovery

Chapter 2

The Journey and a Curious Discovery

Tarzan led them through the jungle towards the coastline. After reaching the coastline, he kept near it for some time and then swerved slightly towards the north.

"Tarzan?" Jane called. "Are you sure you remember the location correctly? We're not so much near the coastline now."

"Oh yes, I remember the place correctly." he answered her. "It's not so much near the coastline as I made it out to be."

Tantor started becoming suspicious. "We are not going to that place from where all those noises came from, are we?" he asked in a frightened voice.

"Oh yes, yes, maybe." said Turk.

Before Tantor could panic and run away, Jane and professor tried to reason with him.

"Don't worry, Tantor." said Jane. "Whatever lived there has surely gone away. Those noises don't come now."

"I'm sure there is a simple reason for those occurances." added the professor. "Just wait till we find it, Tantor. You'll feel silly to have been scared of it for so long and laugh on yourself!"

"But-but what if that creature is just lying quietly, waiting for us!" said Tantor starting to panic. Like all scared animals he had lost his reason suddenly.

"look here, Tantor." said Turk. "You, like us, has never come near this part of the jungle. If you want to go back, you can surely go. "But what if-" she continued in a dangerous tone, "-you met a leopard on your way. Or a lion, maybe."

And of course, that decided the matter for Tantor. He went with them, trembling a little.

After they had walked on for an hour or so, they reached a part where there was a thick tangle of bushes and undergrowth, which went on for a long way. Jane had learnt to tackle this kind of problem, but the professor needed help to get through.

Soon, Jane had torn a hole in her dress and she couldn't help feeling a little unhappy about it. Though, she had changed from the trim and proper lady that she used to be, she still couldn't manage to forget all her old customs, and missed her civilized life sometimes.

Suddenly, she stumbled and fell into the undergrowth. when she picked herself up, she was surprised to find herself holding...

"Good gracious, a shoe!" she exclaimed. "an old and broken one, too!"

"A shoe, my dear?" said the professor, who was having troubles of his own trying to scramble through the underbrush. "I think humans have got into this jungle again."

"No, Daddy," said Jane, "Just take a look at it. It's so old!"

So he did, and was surprised to find it in its current condition. It was actually a leather boot. But its sole had almost rotten away, it had gathered thorns in it, the leather left on it had gathered fungus and Turk said that it was the smelliest thing in the jungle and it was a wonder why she didn't sniff it out before.

Tarzan dared to ssniff at it closely and wrinkled up his nose in disgust. But still he was able to report that it faintly smelled of humans.

"What do you think it means, professor?" he asked the scientist.

"I think, my boy, someone who came in this jungle recently left this behind." the professor answered. "I certainly cannot think of another explanation."

"But daddy, it's so old!"said Jane repeating herself.

"Maybe, maybe-" began the professor, but was interupted by Tantor.

Please "throw it away." he protested. "Let's continue on. Whoever left this shoe behind is surely not going to come back for it." The truth was that Tantor was scared and wanted to finish this exploration as quickly as possible. The others knew this too, and Jane took pity on him.

So she threw the shoe away and they continued on their journey.

After going on for a long time, they noticed that the dense bushes and undergrowth started thinning out.

This meant that their journey was not so difficult now, and this thought enlivened their moods considerably. You see, the bushes had stained Jane's clothes more than she had expected, and as you can imagine she wasn't too pleased. Tarzan and the animals didn't had any problems of that kind, but they too prefered traveling on an easier path. As for the professor, well, must I tell you?

Tarzan and Jane got engrossed in professor's theories about various plants, and Turk and Tantor had just started teasing each other about silly things, when the former three were attracted to Turk's complaints about something rotten and metallic that she had stepped on. And it was then that they found what Jane described to be the last thing she had expected to find in that jungle.


	3. The Railway

Chapter 3

The Railway

"Oh my goodness! Daddy, Are These Railway Lines?" she exclaimed in astonishment.

"Yes-yes, it looks like so." said the bewildered scientist. "But-but railway lines! In this jungle!"

And sure enough, there they were, not as smooth as we are used to seeing them, but rotten and rusted. Even if the humid African climate had taken its toll on much of them, some of them were still intact and could be seen leading towards the coastline."

"What are railway lines?" asked Tarzan. He had never heard of such a thing before.

"People make these to transport themselves and other goods faster." said Jane who was too excited to explain anything propperly.

"But people can transport themselves on foot as easily." said Tarzan. "Why make these strange metallic things?"

"Tarzan," said Jane, "I think I'm Too excited to explain it now. I'm sorry, but I think I can explain it better when we'll reach back home. But for now, please let's follow them and see where they lead to."

Tarzan, always willing to please others before he could be pleased himself, consented, and they went on, following the strange lines to where they led them to.

For Turk and Tantor, who had never seen such a thing before, and who couldn't think for the life of them what these things were meant for, this journey meant of little consequence. But Tarzan had noticed Jane and professor regard these things with astonishment. A feeling of premonition began to grow within him. A feeling that told him that these things meant trouble with humans again.

They followed the lines, which, to their surprise and puzzlement, were leading them towards the sea. This fact made Tarzan wonder if these things had something to do with the transport of ships. But then he suddenly noticed that a line of them was leading in the northern direction which was away from the sea. He brought this fact to the others' notice as well.

"Look here, Some of them lead in another direction." he said.

"Oh yes!" said Jane, stopping to look at the northern line. "But finding them leading to one place was amazing enough. I wonder why they lead to two places?"

"Well," said Turk, "We cannot go in two directions at once, can we? So let's follow the previous one first. Though I still cannot make out why someone will take the trouble of leaving this rubbish behind on the ground."

This gave Tantor a fearful idea. "What-what if-" he began, trembling, "-These things are the monster's way of marking its territory!"

This gave Jane and Professor an idea too, which told them exactly what were the noises that Tarzan and the animals had heard. they first exchanged quick glances and then faced Tantor, grinning.

"Don't worry, Tantor." said the professor, "We know exactly what made those noises."

"You know!" cried Tantor, now panic-stricken.

"Oh it's not a monster." said Jane. "Not exactly."

"What do you mean by not exactly?" cried Tantor in fear. 'not exactly' meant a lot to him.

"What I mean is," said Jane, "that if you call that thing a monster, then, it is a very useful and helpful monster."

This got Tarzan and turk interested as well. They had wondered whole their lives thinking about what made those terrible noises.

"Come on, now." said Turk. "Don't talk in riddles, and tell us what is it? We want to know as well, don't we, Tarzan?

Tarzan looked round and asked curiously, "Is it somewhere near?", which made Tantor trumpet in fear.

"Even if it's near it won't hurt us." said the professor. "But I'm curious to explore this line first. Jane and I will tell you everything in detail when we reach home."

So they went on, Tantor quite relluctantly, following the lines towards the sea. But surprises of the day weren't over yet, because another one awaited them at the coast.

When they reached the coast, they were astounded to see the tracks leading over a bridge, which was broken and rusty in many parts, and which led over the sea to another island. This island wasn't very big, but it was big enough to hold a small village.

Tarzan haulted. He was sure that he, Jane, Turk and the professor can cross the bridge without any problem. But Tantor was too heavy, and asking him to stay behind in his current frightened condition would be futile. Should he call off the exploration? No, that would disappoint all the others. Then, a pleasing and time saving idea struck him.

"Listen," he said to the others, "Tantor is too heavy to go over that bridge. But I have an idea. I, along with Jane and Professor can go over that bridge, while Turk and Tantor can explore the other line. Does that suits You, Turk?"

"Oh, yes," agreed Turk willingly. Anything suited her as long as she had an interesting part to take in it. As for Tantor, he was too frightened to notice where he went.

So the party split in two, and each went in a different direction.

Tarzan, Jane and Professor started carefully crossing the rusted bridge, always fearful that a part of it will give way beneath them and they'll be thrown into the sea at the mercy of crocodiles, leeches, and goodness knows what else. But they managed to cross the bridge without any mishap, and were amazed to find themselves on an island, which, at first sight, looked to them as if even the wildlife had abandoned it.

Not a sound was heard, not even of wind or the birds. This fact made the trio cautious. They hadn't forgotten the last time when they hadn't heard a sound in the jungle.

They walked on, still following the tracks and stepping carefully. A feeling had taken over them which made them think that a loud sound made by them will disturb some terrible thing that lived here.

No one broke the silence, until they reached a place where the railway lines seemed to criss-cross each other, dividing themselves into various branches, which ended suddenly after going on for a few yards.

"Daddy," said Jane quietly, "I think this is the railway yard."

The professor nodded.

But the curious part about this rusty railway yard was that there was no rusted rolling stock: no rusted wagons in the sidings; no rusted engine anywhere to be seen. The only thing which was left there were the cinders and ashes showing that it was a steam engine, or engines, that had run the railway.

Tarzan sniffed the ground closely. "I think," said he, "someone lit a big fire here. probably humans"

Jane and the professor didn't bother to correct him this time.

They didn't explore the railway yard further, but left the tracks and went to explore in another direction. To their astonishment, instead of the trees and bushes they had expected to find, what they found were abandoned houses and ploughed land overgrown with weeds.

"People used to live here." said the professor, quoting what was in everyone's mind.

Tarzan looked up at the sun an decided that it was high time they left that place. If they didn't do so at once, the darkness will overtake them, and, as you know, darkness in the jungle means trouble.

So they turned their steps homewards. As they were crossing the bridge, Jane asked, "What did they made that railway for, I wonder?"

What she didn't know was that Turk and Tantor were waiting for them on the other side with the answer in Turk's hand. The other line had led them to a quarry, but they didn't know it was called that until later. What they found there, was not found anywhere else in the world, but they didn't know that either. They had brought a piece of it back to see what the professor made of it.


	4. Many Things Happen

Chapter 4

Many Things happen

When Tarzan, Jane and the professor reached on the other side of the bridge, they were surprised to find Turk and Tantor waiting for them. They had expected them to go home after the exploration, as they themselves had intended. But there they wer, Turk and Tantor, as large as life waiting for them. Tantor had even managed to forget his fright.

"Hello," the professor greeted them with a smile, "We thought you would be going home after your exploration, you know."

"We were going to." said Turk. "But look what we found." And she opened her large fist to reveal what looked like a stoen, but it was as smooth as glass and as beautiful as the rainbow. You see, it reflected all the colours of the rainbow in a beautiful hue, still it didn't have any one of them itself.

"Isn't it fascinating?" Turk asked them.

"Doesn't it remind you of the rainbow?" put in Tantor.

But the other thrre stood rooted to the spot with astonishment and wonder.

After half a minute had passed, Tarzan asked them curiously, "Where did you find that?"

So Turk told her tale. She told them that the other line had led them on for quite a long way, until they had reached a place which was full of this strange stone. Even the ground was made of this stone which felt strange to walk on. But a strange thing that they had noticed was that the ground had large chasms in it as if someone had dug out this stone in large quantities. The line had ended there, so they had decided to return. But before returning, they had picked up one of the stones in order to show the professor and find out if he could tell them something about it.

"I have seen such a beautiful stone for the first time in my life." declared the professor.

"So this explains why they made this railway." said Jane. "To mine out this stone. And no wonder either. It's simply Beautiful!"

"Well, keep it if you like." said Turk and willingly gave the stone to Jane. She knew about Jane's fascination towards beautiful things, and while she herself appreciated their beauty, she, unlike Jane, had no desire to own them. This, my friends, is the primary difference between humans and animals. When animals see something they appreciate, they leave it as it is, so as not to disturb their beauty. When humans see something which catches their fascination, they want to own and spend it as soon as they can. But then, let's come back to our story.

"Tell us what you found," said Tantor. So Jane told them and the informations were exchanged.

When they reached home, Jane and the professor fulfilled their promise of explaining railways to Tarzan and the animals. While the professor explained them about the railways starting from their history, Jane made sketches of engines, coaches and wagons so as to show them how the rolling stock looked like.

"So," said Tarzan, beginning to understand, "those ashes were from a steam engine, weren't they? Are those engines big?"

"Oh, it depends on what they are needed for." said Jane.

"Can a steam engine make all those noises we heard?" Turk asked in astonishment, for by now, the professor had theorised that all those shrieks and bangs and crashes might have been made by a steam engine working the railway.

This questioning and answering went on until Tarzan and the animals knew in theory all about the railway. But soon they would find, as most of us do, that theory and practical experience are two different things.

After all that was done, the question remained, who were the mysterious people that ran that railway? Who were those people that ran a quarry on an unexplored jungle island? For by looking at the dilapitated condition of the railway, they had decided that the quarry was abandoned about five years ago, and as Tarzan and the others had stopped hearing those noises about this time, the fact was confirmed.

"Do you think Dumont might know something about it?" Tarzan wondered

"Dumont is the last person I would like to ask." said Jane. "But still, he has helped us through a lot of troubles, and you never know who knows about what."

"I'll ask him as soon as I can." decided Tarzan. "I'll take the stone with me in order to show him if he might ask me to."

Dumont was a french businessman who had opened a trading post in the jungle. He was one of those persons who care more about their trade than anything else, but still, as Jane had said, he had managed to help Tarzan and his family through many awkward situations. The link that Tarzan and the others were making with the quarry and Dumont was that both were related to business.

so, as it happened, Tarzan invaded Dumont's trading post in the evening, just as Dumont was closing business for the day.

"Hello, Mr. Tarzan." said Dumont, as Tarzan burst in through the door. "Can I help you with something?" Dumont's strange way of talking always suggested to Tarzan of cunning.

"There is an abandoned quarry in the jungle which produces strange stone and has a railway of its own." began Tarzan seriously. You see, he never considered greetings necessary, and Dumont was the last man in the jungle he wanted to be genial with. :I want to know," he went on, "if you know something about it."

Dumont was interested. If he was astonished, Tarzan never knew, because Dumont never showed his astonishment on his face. "Wait, wait, Mr. Tarzan." said Dumont, "Explain it all to me propperly."

So Tarzan took the trouble of doing so, and showed him the stone he had brought with him. Dumont, like everyone else, was fascinated. But to Tarzan's annoyance, a cunning smile began to spread on Dumont's face.

"You say the quarry has a railway?" he asked Tarzan.

"Yes." Tarzan answered curtly. "Do you know something about it?"

"No." said Dumont. "But tell me, Mr. Tarzan, did your jungle friends really found more stone in that quarry?"

Tarzan knew now their was going to be trouble of some sort, but what was it, he did not know.

"yes, they did." he answered with gritted teeth.

"Thank you for informing me about this, Mr. Tarzan." said Dumont in his oily way. "I don't know anything about this at present. But I'll try to find out and let you know later."

Tarzan accepted the dismissal, and left the trading post, careful not to forget the stone behind. He had an intuition that trouble was coming now. He only hoped that whatever the trouble might be, it might stay away from his family, which included his gorilla family as well.

But Dumont was pleased by what Tarzan had told him. He was sure that such a beautiful stone might fetch him much wealth. He decided to send an inspection party next day to inspect the railway and the quarry.

He did so the very next day, and was pleased to find out that the party had returned with a good report of the quarry. The only thing now remained for him to do was to build the railway again. Then he could mine the stone for himself and flourish his business.

He began to do so as quickly as he could gather the capital for it, and the railway began to make good progress. He even restored the smaller island and the part of the railway on it because he knew that it would be a good place to build the quarry department of his business there. At least, it would be away from the prying eyes of Mr. Tarzan. Anyway, Dumont had felt a curious interest in that smaller island. One thing he knew about it, and that was, that it couldn't be viewed from where the ships came and went. If it could, then he would have discovered the quarry himself a long time ago.

But let's come back to our friends. At first, Jane and the professor had expressed their concerns about the noise from the railway, which would disturb the animals. But Tarzan and the animals assured them that this would not happen. You see, the railway didn't disturb them much when it was run before, so they saw no reason why it should disturb them now. It was true, however, that they had wondered at it and feared it so much that no one had ever ventured near the place in order to see for themselves what it was.

At last, the railway was complete. Dumont had even managed to procure wagons [otherwise known as trucks] for his railway. But now, a big problem confronted him. He had invested a lot of money in his railway, and now he didn't have enough to buy an engine to run it. So, the only option left for him was to procure one on loan.

He started thinking of a railway owner with the best reputation. he knew of one Sir Topham hat who owned almost all the railways on the Island of Sodor. Could Sir Topham Hat loan him an engine? But wait. Hadn't he heard from people that Sir Topham Hat's Engines were strange in some way? In what way, he did not know, for he had never seen them for himself. But what did he care, as long as he got an engine.

So he called up Sir Topham Hat asking him to loan an engine. Sir Topham Hat consented, but told Dumont that most of his engines were steam engines. Dumont agreed to have one, but wanted to procure a diesel as well in some way. So, Sir Topham hat recommended a fellow railway owner from whom Dumont could loan a diesel.


	5. Enter The Engines

Chapter 5

Enter The Engines

While Dumont is waiting for his engines to arrive from the Island of Sodor, let's visit the island ourselves and see what's going on there.

On the island, Sir Topham Hat, endearingly known as 'The Fat Controller" by his engines, was sitting in his office, pondering over the deal he had just struck. Could those people in that African jungle take good care of his engine? Well, he would send someone who would make sure they did. He would call Mr. Dumont later to inform him of this arrangement.

Now the question remained, which engine should he choose? He knew he must choose one of the little engines as the rails in that jungle could not be expected to be very strong. He knew that he could find just such an engine on Thomas' branch line. But which engine would be the best? Well, he must travel himself to the branch line and see which engine is most willing to go.

Before we go on further, I must tell you about Thomas-The Tank engine, as he has a great part to play in this story. He was a six-wheeled tank engine, built for shunting and hauling light passenger trains. There was a time in Sodor's history, when Thomas was a station pilot at Vicarstown station. In those days, the bigger engines, with the exception of Edward-The Blue engine, used to look down upon him, considering him unfit to pull trains. They didn't intend any harm, of course, but still, their comments and boastings sometimes hurt Thomas. Not that he was completely innocent himself. Thomas was, and still is, one of the most mischievous engines of Sodor. But still, the bigger engines had no right to make him feel as if he was no use at all for the railway. But as time went on, Thomas learned that being the fastest or the most powerful engine only meant little. What meant most was being a really useful engine.

At the time when Sir Topham Hat was thinking about his deal, Thomas was chuffing along his branch line. He had been awarded this line more than fifty years ago as a reward for his hard work as a station pilot.

In those fifty years, he had had many troubles, great and small, but the troubles he was facing now was unlike anything he had ever faced before. You see, his old coaches, Annie and Clarabel, who had been given to him along with his branch line, had recently been called away for an overhaul, and he had been given two brand new coaches for temporary replacement. Annie and Clarabel were two coaches who were dearly loved by Thomas. Knowing that they were older than him, he didn't even mind when he was scolded by them for his numerous blunders, though this wasn't something expected of all coaches. But besides that, Annie and Clarabel were nice coaches, cooperative through all journeys, lending a helping buffer whenever they could, never any trouble and very nice to work with. So, of course, Thomas missed them when they were not there with him. Still, the problem would have been very small, if it wouldn't have been for the new coaches. Thomas was sure whoever built these coaches might have been in a lot of hurry to put them in service, because, that person had completely forgotten to built nerves for them, leaving them permanently unnerved as a result.

"Slow down! Slow down!" screamed the new coaches, as Thomas left Ffarquhar with his first passenger train of the day.

"I can't! I can't!" he snapped back. "We're hardly running 30 miles an hour. Do you want our train to be late?"

But the coaches didn't hear, or they didn't care, as they continued their complaints. At last, Thomas grew weary and picked up speed in order to finish the journey faster, careful not to bump the coaches or else the passengers will complain too. But as they were nearing the station, the coaches let off a scream that shamed Thomas' whistle. He was startled, and

looked up to see that the only reason for their sudden panic was a herd of sheep crossing the line. He braked as hard as he could, and managed to stop just in time. He didn't want the farmer to ad to his troubles as well.

"PEEEEEP!" he whistled as loudly as he could in order to startle the sheep and shoo them away from the line. This method usually worked, but not this time. The sheep didn't pay any attention. So, he tried to shoo them by whooshing steam, but this didn't work as well.

"Oh, dear! he sighed. "I'm surely going to be late today."

He was going to start all over again, when, to his relief, he saw that the farmer had come to herd the sheep away.

After the farmer had done that, Thomas let off steam with relief, and set off again doing his best to make up for lost time.

"Must be on time! Must be on time!" he murmured to himself trying his best to ignore the coaches' complaints.

He managed to reach the next station just ten seconds late, where he met Percy-The Small Engine about to leave with his goods train.

Percy was a four-wheeled green sadletank engine, who was built mainly to cope with industrial work. As a result, Percy ended up pulling more goods than passengers. The fact that he was an industrial engine, also made him one of the smallest engines of the fleet, and in turn, the fact that he was one of the smallest engines made him the cheekiest one, too.

As Thomas braked to a hault, Percy called out to him in his squeaky voice. "Good morning, Thomas. Isn't the weather good today?"

Thomas frowned at him. "Do you think these coaches will let me enjoy the weather?" he asked contemptuously. "They hardly let me draw a puff in peace." The coaches didn't take this kindly at all.

"How rude!" they said sulkily. Before they could say anything else, Percy interrupted in an attempt to comfort Thomas.

"Don't worry, Thomas." he said. "I'm sure Annie and Clarabel will come back from their overhaul sooner than you expect them to."

"I really wish they would come soon." groaned Thomas. "Or else, I would follow them in the works sooner than they expect me to!"

Soon, Percy left the station, and Thomas followed some time later, trying to calm the coaches who were cross about what he had said at the station. He had a difficult journey throughout his branch line, and by the time he reached Napford Junction, he was exhausted.

He braked to a gentle hault and was not happy to see Henry-The green Engine looking crossly at him from the other platform.

"You're late with the passengers." said Henry crossly. "And now you've made my train late too!"

"I'm sorry." sighed Thomas. "But these-oh, never mind and continue on with your train." He'd already had enough trouble with those coaches and he didn't want more from them.

After Thomas' passengers had boarded Henry's train, Henry thundered off, whooshing steam crossly. Thomas had a little time to rest before his next train, so he shunted himself in a siding, and was just trying to comfort himself by thinking of the best way to get rid of those coaches, when, to his horror he saw the Fat Controller's car pull up near the station. "Oh, Dear!" he thought. "The Fat Controller might have heard about me being late, and now he has come to scold me for it."

But to his surprise, the Fat Controller got out of his car, and approached him with a smile.

"Good morning, Thomas." greeted the Fat Controller. "You look a little troubled today. May I ask what the matter is?"

"There's nothing much the matter, sir." replied Thomas. "I was wondering, if-if I may go for permanent goods duty for a little while."

The Fat Controller hid a smile. He had heard of the reputation of Thomas' replacement coaches.

"Well, Thomas." said the Fat Controller, "I have a proposition to make which would relieve you from your passenger duties for a little while. A businessman by the name of Dumont had asked me to loan him an engine to run a quarry in a jungle island. So, would you like to go?"

Thomas stared, trying to make head or tale of this statement. A quarry in a jungle island! The Fat Controller must be making fun of him! Yes, this must be it.

He smiled. But the Fat Controller must have read his thoughts, because he said,

"No, Thomas, I'm not joking. I know this sounds a little disbelieving. But, I happen to know that Mr. Dumont has opened a trading post in an African jungle. And now, he has found a quarry, which he says, has a kind of precious stone. He has built a railway there, to mine out that stone, but he is lacking an engine to run it. So, I'll ask again, would you like to go?"

Thomas' smile broadened. At last, here was a chance to get rid of these coaches! It was true that he didn't like trucks either, because of the fatal tricks that they played on the engines, but anything was better than those troublesome coaches.

"I would be glad to accept, sir." he beamed. "When must I leave?"

The Fat Controller was pleased too. "You would be leaving tomorrow morning by ship. Do you have any objections?"

"No, sir," said Thomas, "None at all." Usually, he would have liked to ask which engine would be taking over his work for the time being. But not this time. He didn't like to know the name of the engine who would be made to suffer from those coaches, knowing that it would be one of his friends.

That evening, in Ffarquhar sheds, he told the other engines his news.

"The Fat Controller is sending me to work a quarry in Africa!" he cried joyously. "I'll have no more trouble from those silly coaches!"

Percy groaned. "Do you know Thomas what this means?" he said. "it means I will have to pull those troublesome things from now on. I might as well crash myself through some buffers and spend the rest of the month in the works!"

Toby-The Tram Engine, who was the only other engine in the sheds except Thomas and Percy, chuckled at this. "I have heard from Henrietta that those coaches are bad enough to crash an engine in the buffers if they could help it." said he. "So, you wouldn't need to take the trouble, Percy." Henrietta was Toby's coach.

Percy grinned. "Well," he said, "I will let them do it if it means getting some peace from them. But, tell us Thomas, where exactly is the Fat Controller sending you, and for how long."

So, Thomas told them all what the Fat Controller had told him, and also told them that the longest period of his stay would be a year, but it could be reduced if Mr. Dumont manages to procure an engine of his own. He had received this piece of information later in the day.

The engines laughed and talked for the whole evening. But the night came on, sooner than they realised, and they fell asleep.

The next morning, all engines who could come, arrived at the docks to bid Thomas farewell, a safe journey to Africa, and a safe return as well. But to their surprise, waiting along with Thomas to be loaded in the ship, was a nasty looking diesel they had never seen before.

Soon, the Fat Controller arrived to give a farewell speech to Thomas. After he had finished with it, Thomas and the other engines enquired about the diesel.

"Oh, Mr. Dumont required a diesel as well." explained the Fat Controller. "So, I asked him to get one from The Other Railway."

The engines suppressed their groans, but it would have been better if that diesel had done so as well. But no. As soon as he got a chance he started boasting of his superiority from the steam engines and the older diesels as well.

He wasn't a very big diesel. In fact, he was a six-wheeled shunter. But if only you could have heard his boastings you would have thought he was a high speed bullet train.

The Fat Controller didn't try to suppress him, knowing that it would be futile to do so.

As Thomas was being loaded in the ship, he asked a desperate question of the crane who was loading him. "Excuse me," he said, "but can you tell me if that diesel is going to be loaded in the same ship in which you're loading me? Or else, you know, I'll have to make this journey with him, and Africa is a long way off."

The crane laughed so hard that he almost dropped Thomas into the sea.


	6. The Meeting

Chapter 6

The Meeting

At first, it was a cumbersome journey that Thomas had. he tried to make friends with the diesel, but his attempts were in vain. He tried to spend the time by thinking of all the adventures and misadventures that he'd had with his friends, but the thought that he won't see them for some time made him sad. After some time, he became used to the diesel's insults and complaints and fell peacefully asleep for most of the journey.

At last, the journey was complete, and they'd reached Africa. Now, the only thing left was for the two engines to be lifted out, and then they would see the sunshine again. It had been a little dreary in that ship.

At the small island harbour that was rebuilt by Dumont, among the throng of workers that had arrived, Tarzan and Jane had also arrived to see the engines. Jane had come because she hadn't seen a train for a long time, and wanted to see one again. As for Tarzan, he'd come to make sure that the new machines that were going to arrive wouldn't be used for anything that would harm the gorillas. Dumont was there as well, but Jane and Tarzan made sure that he didn't stand in their company. Just as the ship arrived, Turk arrived on the scene as well, and explained that she had just come out of curiosity to see the new machines. Finally, Dumont's crane began to lift the first engine out of the ship. it was the diesel. But Tarzan didn't know this. What he saw was a black, box-like thing, with six-wheels, lifted out of the ship. As the crane placed the diesel on the rails that were prepared for the engines, Tarzan noticed something that greatly alarmed him. The box-like thing had a face! Not a painted one either! It was a live, grimacing face. He stared at it unbelievingly.

"What's that!" he exclaimed. And, to his horror, the thing moved his lips and said in a nasty, cross voice, "That's my face, you silly monkey!"

Tarzan was more alarmed than offended. What was this thing! Then, he heard a groan, and turned to look at a machine, which was anything but like a box. This thing was blue, with six-wheels, and a chimney at the top, and, oh good gracious! This thing had a face too! Though not an angry one. This one looked like a kind, good-natured face.

Tarzan advanced towards the blue thing, and asked in a severe voice, "What are you?"

When Thomas had first seen this strange man with overgrown hair and beard, hardly wearing any clothes, he was a little alarmed himself. But then he had consoled himself by thinking that this was a jungle and maybe this man was a gamekeeper or something. His lifestyle might have been changed by living in a jungle for so many years. And, anyway, this man was wearing just the right dress for this hot and humid weather. Then, he had heard the diesel's unkind comment and had let off the groan which the strange man had heard. When the strange man advanced towards him, Thomas saw that he was a little afraid, though he hardly showed it. When the man asked him what he was, Thomas knew that this man had hardly seen anything of civilization, and pitied his alarm. So, he answered gently, "I'm a steam engine. And you needn't worry, I'm not going to harm you in any way."

Tarzan was a little calmed by Thomas' gentle answer, but he was only half-convinced. "But-but," he said, "you're a machine!"

Thomas smiled. "So am I. What of it?"

"You're alive!" said Tarzan.

"Oh," said Thomas, "It's because I'm from the island Of Sodor, and all the vehicles there are alive. But you needn't be alarmed, really. I don't mean any harm. I've only come to help to run the quarry."

Tarzan's frowning face began to turn into a smiling one. he was sure that this machine wasn't lying. He looked into Thomas' eyes, and found the innocence that he could only find in the eyes of children. He decided then and there, that this thing was a childlike one, and, as you know, gorillas like all children. Tarzan was a gorilla in the sense that he was raised by them.

"Hello," he said in his kind and good-natured voice, "I'm Tarzan. Who are you?"

Thomas returned his smile. "I'm Thomas-The Tank Engine." he said, "Pleased to meet you."

Tarzan turned round to see if Jane and Turk were alarmed. He was relieved to see that neither of them were. Jane had had too many surprises in her life to be scared of this one. And, as for Turk, she was hardly unnerved by anything until you told her the reason to be unnerved.

Jane came up closer, trying her best to be polite. "Hello." said she to Thomas. "I'm Jane. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I see you've already met my husband so I needn't introduce him again."

Thomas smiled again. "I'm also pleased to meet you, ma'am. I'm Thomas."

You see, Jane's polite manner had led him to believe for a moment that it was she who was going to be his temporary boss. But he suddenly dismissed this thought from his mind, as he realised that this lady was Tarzan's wife. This should mean that Tarzan was his boss as well. no. The possibility of a man like Tarzan being his boss almost seemed to be zero. Furthermore, Jane's words assured him further as she said, "You needn't call me ma'am. You can call me just by the name I told you."

Thomas decided to solve the matter once and for all.

"Excuse me," he said, "but can you tell me who is going to supervise my work here?"

"Oh, Mr. Dumont is going to do that." Jane told him.

Dumont! Hadn't the Fat Controller told him? How silly of him to think that Jane was his boss. Maybe, the journey with the diesel had affected his mind more than he'd thought.

And all this time, the diesel in question was trying to flatter Dumont by telling him of the excellent work he, the diesel, could do.

"I'm the best shunter of my railway, sir." he was saying, "You couldn't have found a better shunting engine in the whole of Britain."

What Dumont didn't know was that, when that diesel finished shunting his train, it was already five minutes late.

Then, suddenly, it was Thomas' turn to be alarmed, as a big gorilla came bounding up to him. It was Turk, who had come to see Thomas closely for herself. No one seemed to be interested in the black box.

"Oh, cinders and ashes!" he gasped,. If only he had a little steam to put some distance between that gorilla and himself!

But Jane reassured him. "Don't worry, Thomas." she soothed, as Tarzan began to talk to Turk in the gorilla language. "It's only Turk! She won't harm anyone."

"Is-is she a friend of yours?" Thomas stammered. This gorilla certainly didn't look as if she was a pet.

Jane couldn't help noticing that when Thomas spoke in a higher key, his voice squeaked.

"Oh yes, sure." said she,

coming closer and placing a hand reassuringly on his buffer. Then she went on in a quiet confidential voice. "Look here, Thomas. you'll find hard to believe it, but Tarzan was raised in this jungle by gorillas. She is one of his family, his cousin, to be exact. Don't you see his strange clothes?"

Thomas was amazed. Then he noticed Tarzan talking to Turk with ape-like grunts and gestures. The familiarity with which Tarzan was talking made Thomas believe the seemingly impossible thing that Tarzan was raised by gorillas. His amazement changed to curiosity.

"You're his wife, aren't you?" he said. "Do you know how to talk like that?"

"Sure I do." Jane smiled. "Tarzan taught me that just after we were married."

Thomas was enthralled. "Can anyone learn to talk like that?" he wondered. "Can I?"

Jane couldn't help laughing. "All people that come here try to talk like that." she said. "And most of them don't succeed. But maybe you will."

"But maybe I won't." Thomas replied. "you see, I don't have hands to do all those gestures with."

"You can talk without gestures if you want to." Jane reassured him.

"Is it difficult?" Thomas wanted to know.

"It's easy enough if you practice." Jane told him. "I'll ask Tarzan to teach you too. He taught me and my father after all. I'm sure he won't mind teaching you." Suddenly, she began to laugh. When Thomas asked her the reason for it, she told him the following incident.

"Once, when there was trouble around in this jungle, I tried to send a monkey to warn Tarzan of it. You see, in those days, I had just started to learn the ape language. Whenever, I tried to tell the monkey to warn Tarzan, he kept bringing me mangoes, bananas, and goodness knows what else."

Thomas chuckled. "So," he said, "I will have to be careful while using it, won't I?"

At this point, Tarzan, who was discussing these machines with Turk, looked round at Thomas. He'd heard all what Thomas and Jane were talking. "Don't worry." he joked. "The first thing that we will teach you would be how to apologise before you start saying anything."

But then, he looked at the diesel and remembered his insulting comment.

"What was it that you were calling that thing, Jane? Oh yes, a diesel." He looked at Thomas. "Is he always that rude?" he asked.

"Well," said Thomas. "I cannot say how he behaves back at his home but he has been rude to me throughout the whole journey, that is, throughout the time I was awake. I got myself to sleep for most of the journey."

In the meanwhile, Dumont, who was getting tired of the diesel's chatter, sent him to the workshops, and approached Thomas. He had been regretting his decision of loaning a steam engine. He knew that steam engines were less economical to manage. But, at the time he had called up Sir Topham Hat, he was desperate to get an engine. This was the only reason why he had agreed to get an engine run by steam. But now he'd had to put up a water tower and had to order coal for fuel as well. Not only that, he even had to order parts for the engine if he might break down. He wondered why most of Sir Topham's Hat's engines were steam engines. What he didn't know was that, Sir Topham's engines knew his railway sidings like the back of their buffers.

"Good Morning, Thomas." he greeted. "I'm Renard Dumont, your temporary boss."

"Good morning, sir." Thomas greeted him back, and immediately stated his business. "When shall I start work, sir?" he had seen the diesel go, and didn't want to remain behind in work.

"As soon as you can get ready." Dumont replied. "But first you'll have to go to the workshops to be fitted with cowcatchers. Mr. Tarzan would never let me live in peace if you accidentally hurt an animal."

Thomas didn't like the idea of having cowcatchers, but he also didn't like the idea of hurting one of the animals. So, he decided to go to the workshops first.

"But who is going to light my fire?" asked Thomas.

:I'll get one of my workers-"

"Excuse me, Mr. Dumont, but Sir Topham Hat has sent me as his representative to take care of all that work.""

It was a tall, wiry man that had interrupted Dumont. When asked who he was, he introduced himself as Steven Diamond, Thomas' temporary caretaker. Dumont was only too glad to shift the responsibility of maintaining a steam engine on to someone else's shoulders, and walked away to supervise other work.

But Tarzan, Jane and Turk were interested to see a steam engine being prepared for work. They watched in admiration as Mr. Diamond oiled Thomas' parts, checked if Thomas had water in his tanks, and Methodically lit his fire.

Soon Thomas was making a whooshing noise as his steam pressure built up. When he had enough steam, he blew his whistle twice, to warn the workers of his approach. Then, he started to make a huffing and puffing noise which was joined by the chuff, chuff, chuff, for which steam engines are famous for. His wheels started to turn and he set off for the workshops.

Our jungle friends were fascinated. Thomas' whistle had reminded Tarzan of the shrieks that he had heard from the quarry. But now he knew that they were not shrieks, but very loud whistles, and the strange breathing noises were huffs and puffs carried over by the wind. Wait till his mother and the other gorillas heard about it! But a few questions still remained in his mind. Where was the engine who had run this quarry previously, and was it alive like Thomas? Why was there no rolling stock on the island when they had found it? But he didn't know that soon he was going to have enough problems of his own to have sufficient time to ponder over these questions.


	7. Things Begin To Happen

chapter 7

Things Begin To Happen

The next morning, Jane accompanied Tarzan on his jungle rounds for their gorilla family. Usually, Tarzan went on these rounds alone, but today Jane accompanied him because... well... she wanted to. There isn't a reason for everything we do, is it?

Most of the days, everything was peaceful in the family, but today was going to be different. You see, when Turk had returned to the family yesterday evening, she had been questioned by some of the more curious and inquisitive gorillas about what she had seen at the harbour. She had told them about the strange beings who were made of metal, had wheels instead of feet, didn't eat or drink anything which was eatable or drinkable, and were known to have more strength than the biggest elephant in the jungle. When asked if they were dangerous to them, she answered that as far as she knew one of them wasn't, because she, Tarzan and Jane were able to make friends with him. And as for the other, he only seemed to be rude and not at all dangerous.

This strange piece of news spread like wildfire in the whole family, until it reached a young and ambitious gorilla called Koro, who was planning for a long time to challenge Tarzan and become the leader himself. Koro saw this as a great chance to spread dislike for Tarzan in order to gain favouritism for himself. He started laying his plans very carefully. He would put his plan into action the next morning. As you can see, he was rather a clever gorilla. Too clever for his own good.

So, early next morning, he started persuading a few of the more gullible gorillas, that the strange things at the smaller island were dangerous, and they would somehow get at them through Tarzan, just like Clayton and his poachers had done before. He made the engines look like cunning monsters that had somehow been able to persuade Tarzan of their harmlessness. He told them that Tarzan was not vigilant enough to be a proper leader, and was always partial towards humans because he was a human himself. Soon, he had the whole family believing in his rumours, with the exceptions of Turk, Kala, and some of the children. But these exceptional influences didn't make any difference to the rest of the family. You see, fear can spread more rapidly than a disease in a jungle, And the gorillas were afraid. Some were afraid of those "strange things", while others were afraid of Koro himself, For it must be said that he was a strong silverback, able to defend himself with physical force if faced with any challenge.

This situation might remind you of the time when Moyo, another silverback, had challenged Tarzan for the leader's position. But after his blunder which had led the family to the tar pit, he had abandoned the hope of becoming leader for some time. But still, he was always ready to grasp at any situation that might portray Tarzan as being partial towards humans and unfit to lead the family. Now, he got ready to support Koro with his accusations against Tarzan.

As you can see, they all ended up making a mountain out of a moll hill. Kala said so too, but for once, no one paid any attention to her.

So, when that morning, Tarzan and Jane arrived to see the family, they were surprised to find them all gathered together, talking excitedly. At first, Tarzan was alarmed thinking that someone had been attacked or hurt. But he soon abandoned that idea as Koro stepped forward and addressed him in a grim voice.

"Turk told us about the strange friends that you made yesterday. And, we think that they are dangerous to the jungle and the family. We suggest that you break your friendship and stay away."

As you can see, this speech was not very impressive, but then, you must remember that Koro was a gorilla, and not a high class orator. He knew that, most probably, Tarzan would deny this suggestion, and he was right.

"Why should I?" said Tarzan, who was perplexed at the sudden turn of events. "They are not dangerous. I saw them yesterday, and, I can assure you all that they are big and strong but not dangerous. Anyway, whatever did Turk tell you?"

"Really," protested Turk, "I shouldn't have told them a thing if only I had known that it would lead to this."

Koro decided to ignore her and continued addressing Tarzan. "If someone is big and strong, then, he is also dangerous. Hadn't you learnt that much in the jungle? They can hurt anyone if they have strength enough to do so."

"Excuse me." Jane put in, trying her best to be polite. "But Koro is right to some extent."

Everyone was surprised at this announcement. They had all expected Jane to take Tarzan's side. But their surprise vanished as Jane explained:

"They are dangerous, but very unintentionally. They can accidentally hurt a person if that person, very foolishly, or ignorantly, might put himself in their way, or might do something that is forbidden, well... against their rules."

"How can someone be unintentionally dangerous!" exclaimed Koro, frowning at Jane. he was determined to carry on with his rebellion. "It is simply absurd!"

"No, it isn't." said Kala, who always managed to keep her usual calm through most situations. "We gorillas are also unintentionally dangerous to humans if we don't look out."

"And anyway," Jane put in, "They can't go anywhere where there aren't rails. So, you needn't worry. They can't come here even if they wanted to."

Koro didn't like this statement at all. If this continued on, then he won't be able to carry out a rebellion at all! He had to do something quickly while he still had the command of the situation. So, he took the only course that suggested itself to his mind. That was, to go and see those strange things himself. If he was able to do so, then, he might point out plenty of dangers, and start a rebellion against Tarzan.

"I would like to see them myself, Tarzan." he said.

Tarzan, who didn't like to brake a friendship without any proper reason to do so, considered the matter. The small island was quite a distance and it was inhabited now. It wouldn't be wise to lead the gorillas there. Perhaps, he could lead some of the gorillas to the quarry to meet the engines there. But, will it be possible? Will Dumont object to him interfering with his work?

"I'll see what can be done about it." he explained. "The island on which they live is inhabited by humans so it is not wise to go there. But I'll see what could be done."

"When are you going to do it?" asked Koro grimly.

"I'll start now." Tarzan told him. "But we won't be able to do anything right away."

So everyone had to be satisfied with that. The gorillas dispersed in order to get themselves a late breakfast, with the exceptions of Turk and Kala who lingered for a few moments to have a word with Jane and Tarzan and then went their ways.

Tarzan and Jane returned to their treehouse feeling very tense and serious in contrast to the merry mood with which they had set out that morning.

"It seems so absurd." said Jane. "Why would the gorillas be concerned about the engines?" She didn't know about Koro's intentions.

"I think they are scared of well... their differences." Tarzan replied. He remembered Kerchak being alarmed about him being different. He didn't know Koro's intentions either.

But that afternoon, things became seriously tense.

Tarzan was just returning from Dumont's trading post after trying to explain his situation to unsympathetic ears, when he saw Turk swinging towards him with a furious pace. She looked terribly alarmed.

"Tarzan!" she gasped as she neared him. "Neeta has disappeared and we cannot find her!"

At this alarming piece of news, Tarzan's first thoughts were that Neeta, who was one of the gorilla children, might have strayed away from the troop and had been carried away by a predator.

So, he accompanied Turk back to where the family lived,and started looking for signs which would tell where Neeta had went. Gorillas are experts at this tactic, and Tarzan was too. He was able to track Neeta to some distance away from the troop. Then, her tracks disappeared completely and were replaced by...

"Wheel marks!" Tarzan couldn't help exclaiming as he saw those marks on the jungle floor. And wheel marks they were, but not very big. The other gorillas found them too and Tarzan decided to follow them. Follow them he did, and was horrified to discover that they led to the quarry railway. He followed them till there, and then couldn't go on further because of the rails and the fence which had been built by Dumont. He was able to make out that whatever it was, it had travelled on or between the rails from there. He ran towards the quarry, in order to see if he could find something. But he was surprised to see that no one was on or near the railway. It was as if everyone had abandoned the quarry again.

He ran back to the family and told them what he had found. you can imagine what they might have said. They were all confirmed that the engines had something to do with it. We know that engines cannot travel without their rails but the gorillas weren't sure about that.

Koro couldn't help being pleased by the turn that the events had taken.

"Wasn't I right about those things being dangerous?" he cried pretending to be angry.

"But they couldn't have come through the thick tangle of vines." protested Tarzan. "They are big."

But Koro was having none of that. "You can't tell what they can do and what they cannot." he shouted at Tarzan. "Before humans came to this jungle, we couldn't have imagined that they could kill us with a push of their frail finger. But they could."

"But their wheels are bigger than those marks." Tarzan tried to reason.

"I don't know that." growled Koro. "I have never seen them. And, as I have said before, you cannot say what those strange things can do and what they cannot."

Still, Tarzan couldn't make himself believe that at least Thomas could do such a thing. He remembered the innocent look that he had seen in Thomas' eyes. For some reason, that look went to his heart. And anyway, If he was stubborn in a belief, no one could make him believe otherwise. He couldn't think for the life of him how the engines could have performed such a feat even if he wanted to. "Maybe," he thought, "If the others could see them, they will believe I am right. And then, maybe, they could tell me something about Neeta's disappearance."

"We'll go to the island in the evening." he said with finality. "No one will be there at that time. Everyone would have gone home. We'll go there and I'll ask them if they know something about Neeta's disappearance. So, who wants to come."

He didn't care any longer about what Dumont would say. One of the children had disappeared, and now, Dumont will have to listen, or else, he will make him listen. For, Tarzan might seem to be indulgent towards the engines, but his main concern was, and always would be, his family.

Koro, of course, agreed to come along, and so did Moyo. Kala and Turk said they would come along too. They didn't want Tarzan alone without anyone to support him. Neeta's mother, who was in pitiful tears, wanted to go along too, but the others detained her. Tarzan was sure that, when Jane and Professor heard about this, they would want to come along too. So, It would be quite a large party that would set off late that evening.

**Author's Note**: The name "Neeta" is not my original creation. It belongs to Edgar Rice Burroughs. If anyone of you have read the original Tarzan novel, you will remember that Neeta was the child whom Tarzan remembers to be drowned in the river.


	8. In The Night

Chapter 8

In The Night

After the engines had gone to the workshops and had been fitted with cowcatchers, they had expressed a wish to see the line before they could start work the next morning. Dumont agreed, but explained that work wouldn't start the next morning but on the day after that. The reason for this was that Dumont wanted to have a formal opening of the quarry and the ceremony for it would take place on the day after tomorrow.

So, they set off, and were shown where the engine sheds and the yard were on the small island. They decided to explore the yard later, and continued on.

Off they went, crossing the now rebuilt bridge towards the extraordinary quarry. They were relieved to find that there was no slope on the line for the trucks to take advantage of. Thomas was also relieved to find that Dumont and his men had taken care that there was no vegetation on the line near enough for him to set fire on, as the probability for that would be increased because of the hot and humid African air.

When they reached the quarry, they were amazed to see it full of the most beautiful stone they had ever laid eyes on. The quarry had it in large quantities, glittering in the sunshine, reflecting its beautiful hue. The engines were fascinated, but still, Thomas' experienced eyes could make out that someone had mined the quarry extensively, and it was soon to run out if Dumont were to exploit it on the usual industrial rate. But even the leftover stone was enough to bring Dumont a good fortune. Thomas was sure that he had never ever seen a thing as wonderful as that in his long, long life.

"What do you think is that?" wondered the diesel. For once, he had forgotten to be rude.

"I don't know." replied Thomas. "I never saw a thing like that in my life. Have you?"

"No." said the diesel. "If I had seen a thing like that, then my controller would have been the richest man in the whole world."

"I wonder who mined this quarry before?" wondered Thomas to himself. "According to what I have been told, This railway was rebuilt from a previous one. In that case, What became of the engine who ran It?"

"I don't care." replied the diesel rudely. "If it was a tin kettle like you, then, it has most probably gone to the scrapyard, or better still, into the sea."

"Did I ask you?" cried Thomas indignantly.

They would have started off a quarrel then and there, if Dumont hadn't arrived on the scene and told them to get back to the other side of the bridge after satisfying themselves with the line.

So, they went back as there was nothing else to see on the line and started shunting the trucks in the yard. The trucks, like the engines, had arrived on the ship and had been placed on the rails, but had not been organised as there was no engine to do so before. And oh, what a bother they were! They simply refused to move when the engines tried to shunt them. So they bumped them hard, making a terrific racket, which brought the foreman out to see what the commotion was for. And oh my! Wasn't he horrified to see that the wagons were alive as well?

At first, he thought that it was some strange trick of the sunlight which was causing him to see faces on the wagons. But he soon abandoned this silly idea as he heard Thomas scolding as he shunted, "Get moving, you! Get moving, you!" and then heard the trucks reply, "Certainly not! Certainly Not!" He went back into his office feeling dizzy. It was enough of a shock to see that the engines were alive.

"If they were alive," he wondered aloud, "why didn't I notice them before?"

What he didn't know that it was the sudrian magic from Thomas and the diesel acting upon them.

As for the engines, they were having a lot of trouble, not only because of the trucks, but because of the weather as well. Thomas had a fire burning inside his firebox, which did not feel as pleasant as it usually did because of the humid air, and the hot weather was causing the diesel to warm his engine faster than his cooling system could cool it. As you will see, This was going to creat problems...

The engines finally managed to shunt the trucks in place as the evening set in. It was a new experience for them to see the sunset in Africa. It wasn't a sunset at all. One moment the sun was there and then, there was a red gllow. and then, suddenly, the sun was replaced by stars which showed big and bright in the African sky.

"Oh my! That was something different, wasn't it?" Exclaimed Thomas as he shunted the last of his trucks in place.

The diesel didn't care to reply. he was having too much trouble with his trucks. The hot and humid weather wasn't helping his temper in any way. Then suddenly, there was a loud BANG! and thick smoke came pouring out of the diesel's engine and he came to a sudden hault.

"That does it." he growled furiously. "I've blown my fuse."

The noise brought The Foreman out of his office again and he wasn't pleased to see what had happened.

"I'm sorry, sir." groaned the diesel. "It wasn't my fault, and the weather is too hot. I'm not used to it."

Thomas, for once, agreed with the diesel.

The foreman had no choice but to tell Thomas to shunt the diesel in the workshops. He knew that a message will have to be sent to Dumont, who had gone back to his trading post that afternoon, telling him of what had happened.

So, Thomas shunted the diesel in the workshops that Dumont had built on the small island, and trundled back gloomily to the engine sheds alone. Somehow, Thomas felt that spending the night with the unpleasant diesel in this jungle would have been a better idea than spending it alone in the lonely sheds. The diesel felt the same in the workshops, though he felt it hard to admit it to himself.

As Thomas reached the sheds, he heard the scream of a leopard from the larger island across the bridge. It sent shivers down his metal frames. Though, he couldn't determine the reason for it, because, you see, even if a leopard found him, it wouldn't want to eat him.

Maybe, it had something to do by having lived with humans all his life. This thought brought back to his mind the friends he had made that morning. One of them hadn't lived with humans until recently. Thomas wondered what view Tarzan would take of the leopards. Their screams mightn't mean anything to him because he had grown up in the jungle, listening to them all the time.

Thomas' thoughts were interupted by Mr. Diamond who had come to put out his fire.

"Good evening, Thomas." said Mr. Diamond pleasantly. "How was your day today?"

"it was nice, sir." replied Thomas. "It would have been even nicer if it hadn't been for the trucks, the weather, and yes, that diesel."

Mr. Diamond laughed. "I wonder why both of you couldn't somehow make friends. After all, you have to stay with that diesel for almost a year."

"No, sir,. Not for that long." replied Thomas. "I saw the quarry today, and I can tell you that it won't last that long."

Mr. Diamond did his work by putting out Thomas' fire, and went his way, towards the workers' lodgings, closing the shed doors behind him, fearing all the time that some animal might leap out of the bushes at him. But Dumont's men had made sure that no wild animal was to be found on this small island, that is, as sure as they could make. It should be remembered that secrets of a place which has been uninhabited for a long time cannot be found out in such a short period.

As Mr. Diamond went to his temporary quarters, he kept Thomas' words about the quarry well in his mind. He felt sure that Dumont might never have meant to built an engine of his own. Then why didn't he tell the Fat Controller so. Well, if Dumont didn't, then he should. He'll do that the very next morning.

Back at the engine sheds, Thomas' thoughts had reverted back to Tarzan. yes, he could still hear the screams of leopards and panthers, but now he had figured out, as has been said before, that even if a leopard or a panther found him, it wouldn't want to eat him. But how had Tarzan grown up among these beasts? There might have been someone to protect him. Someone who would be strong and brave enough to face a leopard, or at least, agile enough to keep out of its way. Thomas had asked Dumont back at the workshhops about Tarzan, and Dumont had told him that According to what he knew, Tarzan was found by a female gorilla when he was a baby, just after His real parents had been killed by a leopard. If that was true, then Thomas wondered who was the gorilla who was kind-hearted enough to raise as her own, not only a child which wasn't her own but who also didn't belong to her race. He wondered how different it would have been for a human child to be raised among the gorillas. Soon, his thoughts llulled him to sleep.

Thomas woke with a start. That was the next thing he knew. He wondered what had woken him up but couldn't figure it out. He could see that it was still dark. In fact, his intuition told him that it was the middle of the night.

"Oh, bother," he said to himself. "Now I won't be able to go to sleep again. I bet it was some little animal in the shed that woke me up."

But as you will see, this wasn't true. Thomas, knowing from long experience that one of the ways of going to sleep was to not to try to go to sleep at all, decided to look out of the shed window and see what new was there to behold in the African night sky. The shed window was directly in front of him, and afforded him a very good view of the whole yard. The stars looked big and bright as they had done in the evening, the moon looked bright too, and the yard looked peaceful. The nearness of that place to nature made Thomas feel a calm which he had never felt even on his rural branch line back at home.

Then Suddenly, his calm vanished as he spotted something on the rails in the yard. He couldn't make out exactly what it was, as his position didn't afford him a good view towards the ground, but he could make out that something was on the rails, close to them as it was. He suddenly felt bewildered. He was sure that whatever it was, it was unlike any engine, coach or wagon that he had seen. For some strange reason, Thomas felt as if that strange thing had an unearthly look about it. Then, as luck would have it, the moon and the stars were obscured by black clouds, predicting rain.

The hot and humid air had turned cold, and the calm atmosphere had turned quiet and tense. Thomas felt alarmed now. The clouds had hidden the moon and the stars, obstructing his vision completely. Then, very faintly, he could hear a rattling noise, as if that strange thing was moving on the rails. To Thomas' horror, the noise seemed to come straight towards him.

Rattle. Rattle. Rattle. It came on. Thomas shivered. What was that thing? Was it some unearthly remnant of the old quarry railway? An ominous crash of thunder made him tremble. he wished he could whistle for help, but there wasn't a single drop of steam in him to whistle with. This thought made him even more scared. If only he had his fire burning, he could have felt braver. And all this time, that thing kept coming on. Slowly, very slowly, but audibly.

It was true, that Mr. Diamond had closed the shed doors before going off, but would they be able to hold that thing back? They weren't very strong doors, and neither was the shed itself. Dumont's men hadn't built the shed very enthusiastically. They had thought that a cheaply built shed could serve the same purpose as a well built one could.

And that thing kept coming on, on, on, all the time. Thomas could now hear it near the shed doors. Then, to thomas' terror, that thing banged itself against the dorr with a force that shook the whole shed. If Thomas were a human, he could have screamed. But as he was a steam engine, he only knew to whistle when frightened. As he could not do that, he stayed quiet, trembling all the while.

Then, to Thomas' great relief, the noise started receeding. Whatever it was, it had satisfied itself, and was now going away. Fainter and Fainter the clatter of wheels on the rails grew, until it faded completely. Thomas thanked his lucky stars, and closed his eyes trying to relax himself.

But something else soon added to his discomfort, as the heavy black clouds did their work. The rain came in a torential downpour, as it usually does in tropical rain forests, and the wind blew in gusts and gales. Soon, to his surprise, Thomas found himself without a shed at all. The handiwork of Dumont's men had borne its fruits. Poor Thomas found himself shivering now with cold instead of horror, as the heavens pored themselves on him, and the winds blew round him in a gale.

After an hour or two, the rains stopped, but the air was chill and moist, making Thomas feel most uncomfortable. He stayed in this condition until morning. He was just wondering how long he would have to rust in this condition, when, to his relief he saw Mr. Diamond coming to light his fire.

Mr. Diamond was none too happy to see what had become of the shed.

"Good gracious!" he exclaimed as he came up to Thomas. "I expected these people to do a better job than that."

"Well sir," said thomas, eager to relate the happenings of the night, "The tumbling of that shed wasn't the only thing that happened during the night."

He told Mr. Diamond about the strange thing in the yard, but Mr. Diamond assured him that it might have been one of the animals. Thomas tried to reason with him, but Mr. Diamond was stuck with his belief, and Thomas finally gave it up.

Thomas had had a strange night, but let's see what would happen this day.


End file.
